I don't know what happens to me on stage. Something else seems to take over

Love is so much better when you're not married

An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house

I was always too mature for my age - and not very happy. I had no young friends. I wish I could go back to those days. If I could only live it all again, how I would play and enjoy other girls. What a fool I was.

Don't talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay I make the god dam rules

Real friends are very special, but you have to be careful because sometimes you have a friend and you think they are made of rock, then suddenly you realise they're only made of sand

I am not an angel and do not pretend to be. That is not one of my roles. But I am not the devil either. I am a woman and a serious artist, and I would like so to be judged

I would not kill my enemies, but I will make them get down on their knees. I will, I can, I must

I would like to be Maria, but there is La Callas who demands that I carry myself with her dignity

I don't need the money, dear. I work for art